VZCZCXRO7849
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #2825/01 2601028
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171028Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1507
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC 0130

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 002825 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/SRAP; SCA/A; EEB/AG 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ASIA SCAA DRAY 
STATE PASS TO USDA/FAS FOR, FCAP, OCBD, OFSO 
 
E.O. 12958; N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECIN EAID AF
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE DISCUSSES COUNTRY'S 
AGRICULTURAL SITUATION 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  During a September 4 meeting with visiting USDA 
officials, Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock 
(MAIL) Rahimi said good rains this year contributed to surging 
agriculture production of grapes, apples, apricots, and 
pomegranates.  He said the country is not ready to make wheat the 
primary crop due to lack of irrigation, quality seeds, fertilizers, 
and research stations.  Rahimi added that his Ministry needs US help 
to improve the country's irrigation system, create a farm credit 
system, and expand the extension service.   The Minister explained 
that the $30 million "Change Management" program, designed to 
improve Ministry services, is a high priority for his Ministry.  He 
also discussed two new Ministry initiatives:  he said MAIL will head 
the "Economic Cluster" comprised of 5 - 6 ministries to address 
economic issues and the creation of a "one-stop-shop" land lease 
agency that will allow companies and businesspeople to lease large 
parcels of farmland, to be used for agricultural purposes, online (a 
$7 million program). End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) In a September 4, 2009, meeting with Minister of Agriculture, 
Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) Rahimi, U.S. Embassy and DC-based 
Agriculture staff discussed the agricultural situation in the 
country and areas where the US/Afghanistan might strengthen 
cooperation.  U.S. Attendees were Quintin Gray, Acting Agriculture 
Minister Counselor , Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy, 
Kabul; Jaime Adams, Senior Advisor, Foreign Agricultural Service; 
Gary Barrett, USDA Afghanistan-Pakistan Fusion Cell, and;  LTC 
Howard Schauer, Agribusiness Development Teams Liaison to USAID, 
USDA and MAIL, U.S. Army National Guard. 
 
¶3. (U) Ag Minister Counselor Gray complimented the Minister's 
excellent agricultural briefing to Senator Levin's delegation 
earlier in the week.  Gray explained how the Afghanistan-Pakistan 
Tri-Lateral Working Groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the U.S. 
will work together to address food security, trade corridors, and 
water issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Gray highlighted the 
Cochran Fellowship program, which will send Afghan agriculturalists 
to the U.S. for agricultural training (six will travel to the US 
within a few weeks), and the Borlaug Fellowship program, which will 
send five Afghan agriculturalists to the U.S. for training in 
January. 
 
¶4. (U) USDA/FAS Adams explained USDA plans to place agricultural 
experts in the Ministry as part of the Ministry's "Change 
Management" initiative, but did not discuss exact dates.  She 
explained that the USDA Fusion Cell Afghanistan-Pakistan (FCAP) was 
created earlier this year to help answer questions about agriculture 
in Afghanistan and serve as the DC-based USG liaison for activities 
and initiatives related to agriculture, watershed management, and 
forestry.  Adams reiterated USDA's commitment to provide Afghanistan 
and MAIL with on-the-ground expertise to help improve the 
agricultural sector.  USDA/FAS Barrett explained his efforts to 
design a training program for U.S. agricultural technical experts 
being sent to Afghanistan to serve on Provincial Reconstruction 
Teams (PRTs), Agribusiness Development Teams (ADTs), Regional 
Commands, and as Ministry Agricultural experts that would strengthen 
their understanding of agricultural practices in Afghanistan. He 
also explained how USDA would work with the agriculture experts to 
develop training and workshops to build capacity with rural 
Afghans. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
MAIL Directors to Work with Ministry Experts 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Rahimi said MAIL working level directors would be the points 
of contact for the experts.  For example, he said the 
policy/planning and extension/research directors will work with the 
Ag productivity expert.  He said the expert would be invited to 
attend the weekly Sunday program coordination meetings (in English), 
and the all-department policy-focused meetings on Thursdays (in 
Dari).  Change management will be led by Allison Rhind, an 
Australian senior advisor, and the Minister.  Minister Rahimi noted 
that change management and is their highest priority and will 
require approximately $30 million in funding. 
 
---------------------------- 
Agriculture Production Soars 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The Minister said the country suffered a serious drought last 
year, but this year, due to good rain fall, production is up 500%. 
He mentioned Herat and Ghazni provinces specifically.  Rahimi noted 
that grape production is doing very well this year due to the rains 
and improved trellising and also cited increased production in 
apples, apricots, and pomegranates.  He said some companies are 
exporting to India; he estimated that a company could buy the fruit 
for 1 dollar/kilo, pay .20 for airfreight, and that Indian companies 
 
KABUL 00002825  002 OF 003 
 
 
would pay more than 4 dollars/kilo. 
 
¶7. (U) Rahimi noted that inspections and certifications continue to 
be a trade barrier.  Specifically he noted that when exporting to 
Iran, fumigation and international standards continue to be an 
issue.  He asked USDA to help develop Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
(SPS) policies to meet international standards, which he thought 
would increase the likelihood of exports to India.  He asked that 
one of the U.S. agricultural experts coming to Afghanistan possess 
this expertise. 
 
¶8. (U) Concerning making wheat the country's primary crop, Rahimi 
stated that the country is "not" ready for a wheat campaign.  There 
are numerous issues to be addressed to implement such a campaign: 
irrigation needs, seed and fertilizer quality issues, and the lack 
of research stations.  All these items need to be in place before a 
campaign is launched; he also cited the high political risk of 
failure.  Rahimi also raised the need for storage - 500k tons 
preferred capacity. And finally, he said that Afghanistan will host 
a UG 99 stem rust conference for Afghan farmers, scientists, and 
agri-businesspeople, most likely in November. 
 
¶9. (U) The Minister said the insurgency is a major obstacle to 
agricultural production.  When young people don't have food to eat, 
he said, they are more likely to accept food from the insurgents and 
more willing to become radicalized. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Afghanistan's Agriculture Sector in a Nutshell 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) Minister Rahimi gave a power point presentation on Afghan 
agriculture: 
 
-  85 percent of the Afghan economy is agricultural; 
-  Most Afghan farms are too small to support a family; 
-  Poverty drives the young to become insurgents and to become 
radicalized; 
-  Farm families need on and off farm income; 
-  Building rural economies is mostly, but not purely, agricultural; 
and 
-  Actions taken by his Ministry and other international partners 
could have a quick impact on rural communities, but that there are 
no quick fixes. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Irrigation/Electricity Key to 
Increased Agricultural Production 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Rahimi stated that lack of irrigation/electricity was a 
major challenge for agriculture and rural development, lamenting 
less than six percent of the Afghan countryside has electricity.  He 
noted that the U.S. had great success in electrifying rural areas 
and Afghanistan should not be nearly as difficult, because 
Afghanistan is approximately the size of Texas. 
 
¶12. (U) The Minister focused on irrigation, stating a better 
irrigation system would make Afghan farmland 500 percent more 
productive.  For wheat, he noted that non-irrigated land produces 
1.2 tons per hectare and irrigated land usually produces 3.0 tons 
per hectare.  The Minister estimated if Afghanistan could produce 
3.5 tons per hectare it would no longer need to import wheat.  He 
stated production levels in Pakistan and India are typically 5 tons 
per hectare and 6 tons per hectare in Egypt. 
 
¶13. (U) Rahimi stressed that a long-term vision is needed for big 
projects (e.g. 1-3 dams for each province).  He said when Ambassador 
Eikenberry visited Paktika the only thing local residents asked for 
were two dams, estimated at a cost of $10 million each.  Rahimi 
noted such a project would improve the livelihood for thousands of 
families. 
 
------------------------- 
Farmers Cannot Get Credit 
------------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) Rahimi stressed the need for a farm credit system in 
Afghanistan, similar to those in India and Pakistan.  He noted it 
would be important to adapt the model for Afghanistan, but that such 
a plan should only take about a month.  Although there are 
microfinance options in the country, he said, these options are not 
yet helping farmers. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Improved Extension Service Sorely Needed 
---------------------------------------- 
 
KABUL 00002825  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶15. (U) Minister Rahimi said he felt improved extension services 
will make a quick impact.  Sharing a story about his own pepper 
garden, he said the pepper plants appeared to be dying, but his wife 
watered the plants every day.  Rahimi asked his extension experts at 
MAIL, who explained pepper plants should only be watered once a 
week.  Rahimi said this kind of simple, practical advice is what 
makes extension so valuable and provides a quick impact.  The 
Minister currently has 1,000 extension agents in the country and he 
projected the need for 5,000. 
 
------------------------ 
New Ministry Initiatives 
------------------------ 
 
¶16. (U) Minister Rahimi described two new Ministry initiatives: 
 
-  The MAIL will lead a new "Economic Cluster" group of Ministries 
comprised of MAIL, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitative Development 
(MRRD), Ministry of Counternarcotics (CN), Ministry of Public Works 
(MPW), and Ministry of Energy and Water.  While all the Ministries 
will continue to exist, the Minister said that the Economic Cluster 
will reduce the number of Ministers reporting to the President on 
economic issues from 20 to about 5 or 6.  This organizational 
structure will help the Government improve coordination with other 
governments.  Rahimi noted that if the cluster concept is 
successful, he would lobby for all Ministries to undergo change 
management. (Comment: The Finance Minister subsequently told 
Ambassador Wayne there may be only 3-4 clusters but confirmed that 
Minister Rahimi would lead an Agriculture and Development cluster 
under the plan.) 
 
-  As of September 4th, the Afghan Government has authorized MAIL to 
create a "one-stop-shop" land agency for land lease.  He said the 
goal is to make larger parcels of land available to private 
companies wanting to invest in farming. Currently, the Afghan 
Government owns most of the land in the country.  The Minister 
envisions a website where Afghans currently living outside of the 
country who wish to come back could lease/buy land online.  Rahimi 
estimates the cost of this program to be $7 million, with the 
primary cost being land surveys. 
 
 
EIKENBERRY